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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25384846">There's No One Like You (No Hay Nadie Como Tú) [English]</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepholtingon/pseuds/keepholtingon'>keepholtingon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Anxiety, Anxious Amy Santiago, Bisexual Amy Santiago, Bisexual Rosa Diaz, Cuddling, Daddy Issues, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Identity Issues, Mexican Character, Mystery, No Lesbians Die, POV Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Romance, Rosa Diaz &amp; Jake Peralta Friendship, Rosa Diaz Has Feelings (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Indulgent, Soft Rosa Diaz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:40:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,250</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25384846</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepholtingon/pseuds/keepholtingon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rosa Diaz struggles with her Mexican-American identity. She connects with her estranged father after nearly thirty years, and learns a few secrets about her life. Luckily, her girlfriend Amy Santiago is there every step of the way to help her embrace her roots and uncover a new kind of mystery.</p><p>Also: Rosa and Amy are both in the closet, and that comes with its own complications — especially when Jake confesses that he is in love with Amy.</p><p>Wrote this because there's hardly any Mexican representation in fanfic, but especially queer Mexican women representation. So, here's this I made for us. :) Hope you enjoy! &lt;3</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jake Peralta &amp; Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago, Rosa Diaz &amp; Amy Santiago, Rosa Diaz/Amy Santiago, Rosa Diaz/Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Business as Usual</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hi, bienvenidos to my fic! I hope you like it! I'm Aracelli, and I'm writing a few words in Spanish.</p><p>If you sadly don't speak Spanish, here's this to help you enjoy my fic better:</p><p>Tatara-abuela: The Spanish word for “great grandmother.” Go back a few generations, and you’ve got yourself a really fun tongue-twister. Tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara… Have fun with this new power, English speaker. Use it wisely. Or don’t, up to you.</p><p>Mija: A word of affection. It literally means “my daughter” in Spanish, but it is also used affectionately toward women.</p><p>Latinidad: Latinity. Her Latin-ness. Her being Latina.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><strong>IN THE ABSENCE</strong> of bread, cakes are good, too. This Mexican proverb had been passed down to Rosa Diaz-Fernández by her <em> abuela </em> , who had learned it from her <em> tatara-abuela</em>, who had learned it from her <em> tatara-tatara-abuela</em>, and her <em> tatara-tatara-tatara-abuela</em>, and her -- </p><p>The point is: it’s a<em> really </em> important saying in Rosa’s family. One that has been repeated time and time again, and it has never rang untrue for the Fernández family. It means this: when something doesn’t turn out the way you want it to, sometimes you have to settle for something a little bit less...for now. But don’t worry: it will be okay, <em> mija</em>, because something better is on the way for you! You just have to wait and see it through until the end. Because guess what? It <em> will </em> get better for you, despite what you think now. All you need to do is stick it out. </p><p>Waiting is the hardest part. This was something that Rosa would find out for herself over the next few weeks.</p><p>_____</p><p>
  <b>THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10th</b>
</p><p>
  <em> Jueves, el diez de octubre </em>
</p><p>11:22 AM - <em> 11.22 de la ma</em><em>ñ</em><em>ana </em></p><p> </p><p><b>“DETECTIVE DIAZ, PLEASE</b> refrain from using your cellular device at work,” Captain Holt ordered as he walked past Rosa’s desk. It was the second time he had told her today. </p><p>Rosa fumbled with her phone, shoving it deep into her back pocket. “Sorry, sir,” she said quickly, possibly <em> too </em> quickly for the Captain’s liking. He raised his eyebrows, staring curiously at her. Rosa cursed herself, retrieving her phone from her pocket and laying it flat on the desk for him to see. She didn’t want to seem like she had something to hide… even though, you know, she had something to hide. She discreetly closed out of her personal email, opening up a random app in its place.</p><p>He peered at it, seeing the app <em> Kwazy Cupcakes 2 </em> set on Level 1300. The bright colors and cheery cupcake faces beamed back at him. His judging expression revealed to her that 1. He despised the <em> Kwazy Cupcakes </em>enterprise, and that 2. he simply did not care what she did on her phone as long as it was not during work hours, and didn’t she know that? Of course. Of course she did. She just needed to know if she had received a certain email yet, and she absolutely did not have the patience to wait until her lunch break to find out. </p><p>“I’m sorry, sir,” she said. “It won’t happen again.”</p><p>He shook his head, dismissing it. Then: “How is that B&amp;E case coming along, Detective?”</p><p>“It’s going fine, sir. We’re a little slow right now, but Jake’s looking into some possible leads in Crown Heights. He said he’ll be back this afternoon sometime, so I was just about to file away some cases before my break.” Translation: There were no cases that needed to be filed. But there was, however, excellent cell service in the filing room. And no nosy bosses looking over your shoulder at any time.</p><p>“Good work, Diaz. And, since you’ve got some <em> downtime</em>” -- he gave her a stern look --  “I’d like you to work on a new case with Amy regarding Mrs. Villanueva.” He pointed to an elderly woman sitting by Amy’s desk in one of the folding chairs. </p><p>“Oh, sure. What’s the case about?” Rosa replied, shoving her phone back into her pocket. She breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>“Mrs. Villanueva is looking for her missing grandson,” he explained. “Angel Pérez-Villanueva went missing under strange circumstances earlier this morning. Amy can explain to you later the specifics. She <em> does </em> have a bit of a dilemma, however. Mrs. Villanueva only speaks Spanish, and she does not understand any English. Naturally, Santiago jumped on the case. Are you interested in working with her?”</p><p>Rosa glanced over at Amy’s desk. Mrs. Villanueva sniffed, wiped at her eyes with a tissue. Her eyes were glued to the floor, tears dripping onto her skirt. Rosa caught sight of a glittering ruby-red rosary clutched in the elderly women’s hands as she silently mouthed the words to a prayer in Spanish.</p><p>Amy sighed, furrowed her brows, and scribbled something down on one of the many legal pads she had laying on her desk. “Okay, so tell me one more time, please…” she said in Spanish. “Can you ___ the ___ that ___ your grandson?”</p><p>Rosa felt her heart jump in her throat at the sound. Being Amy’s friend of seven years and girlfriend of two months, Rosa knew the cadence and beat of Amy’s voice like she knew what rain sounded like. Though she understood bits and pieces of conversation, her high school Spanish classes certainly never prepared her for the Cuban accent. Though beautiful, it was hard to understand even for native Spanish speakers in Mexico. Rosa wouldn’t exactly know that from experience, though, despite being Mexican herself. She never learned to speak Spanish.</p><p>Because she was never taught Spanish as a child, she felt that she wasn’t Mexican enough. She wasn’t enough to be seen as Mexican to her family in Tepic, Nayarit -- and she wasn’t white enough to be seen as just “American” to her coworkers in Brooklyn, New York. She was strictly “othered,” and that bothered her. A lot. She didn’t “fit” anywhere. She was constantly trying to find her own balance between the two cultures, and it had to start with learning the one that was missing. </p><p>But Amy was different. Rosa knew that, envied that, wanted that. Amy spoke native, rapid-fire Spanish. Amy was openly proud of her <em> latinidad</em>. Amy grew up with her Cuban parents. <em> Both </em> of them. She practiced her culture at home with cooking and celebrating festivals. Her Cuban family’s values and traditions followed them to Brooklyn, and she had experienced every Latino milestone by now. She was Cuban through-and-through, and everybody knew it because Amy wanted them to know it. Rosa had always loved that about her: how she was so <em> sure </em> of herself and her place in the world. Her pride made her glow. It made Amy Santiago, well, <em> her</em>. </p><p>Rosa never had any of that cultural connection growing up. Well, she <em> did </em> -- at one point, to some extent -- until her father abandoned the family when she was only eighteen-months-old. Her mother always told her and her brother David they were better off without him. Oscar Diaz-Saucedo fled back to Mexico without even an ounce of explanation. Any talk of him by the children was strictly forbidden in their household growing up. </p><p>Even still, Rosa never resented her father, despite her mother’s best efforts. When he left, so did her culture. Something that could have made her glow with pride, too.</p><p>Rosa did always wonder about the big questions: the ones that often started with ¨What if?” What if… my life had turned out differently? What if… I went with him to Mexico? What if… he never left? Who would I be? Who am I without him?</p><p><em> Who </em> am I missing out on? Myself or him?</p><p>Rosa thought about it often. Not at work, however. Not that -- ever. Her personal life was happily kept private at all times. Her work life was strictly that: her work life. She never felt compelled to tell anyone her personal business. They never needed to know that she couldn’t speak Spanish. </p><p>Amy knew, of course. But Amy didn’t know the full reasoning behind it. It was never a mystery that needed to be solved, and it was never a case that Rosa offered anyone. To her, it was deeply personal, and she wasn’t ready to share it with anyone. Her mother had made her internalize that since she was young -- don’t let anyone in, or they will leave you. Besides, they wouldn’t care, really. It wasn’t their business.</p><p>Rosa never volunteered the information that she could not speak Spanish. It never came up. These two separate sides of herself -- Work Rosa and Personal Rosa -- never conflicted with each other. It was a coin never to be tossed.</p><p>Until now. </p><p>“Sure, Captain,” Rosa said easily, though her palms began to sweat. She wiped them on her jeans discreetly. “I’d love to work on the case.” </p><p>Captain Holt nodded. “I know I can always count on you, Diaz,” he said. Pause. Then, he leaned in, lowered his voice: “And, when you’re done, let me know how you beat Level 1200, please. I’ve been stuck on it since Monday, and Kevin absolutely <em> refuses </em> to let me spend money on such a frivolous game that is <em> Kwazy Cupcakes 2</em>.”</p><p>Rosa smiled. “Thanks, Captain.”</p><p>Captain Holt walked away from her desk and into his office. With a sneak glance back at his closed door and blinds, Rosa swiftly retrieved her phone from her pocket. </p><p>She unlocked it (with Amy’s badge number as her password, of course: 982040) to reveal a photo of herself and Amy on their first date at Brooklyn’s Art Science Observatory: at the gift shop wearing matching telescope hats. It was cheesy and definitely some nerdy shit, but it was the perfect first date in her opinion. Rosa smiled at the memory. </p><p>With work being so hectic for the both of them, they’d hardly had time for a real second date. They’d mainly just done coffee runs together in the morning, or crashing at each other’s apartments at night. After seven years of friendship even, they were still in that honeymoon phase. Rosa both loved it and hated it because, well, it was both terrifying and thrilling at the same time. Rosa hoped that with them now working the same case, it would give them more excuse to spend time together. </p><p>She mindlessly scrolled through her Instagram explore page, got bored, and moved on to TikTok to watch some funny videos. Those were her favorites, especially the ones where they parodied old Disney Channel shows. And the cat ones. Those were always on her For You page because she sometimes spent hours scrolling through those at night. Also, prank videos and ones where people fall hilariously off of stuff. </p><p>Her phone pinged. She paused her cat video and tapped on the notification.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>To: Rosa Diaz [rosadiazf87@gmail.com]</b>
</p><p>
  <b>From: Oscar Diaz-Saucedo [oscardiazsaucedo@gmail.com]</b>
</p><p>
  <b>Subject: Ro</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[2 attachments available]</b>
</p><p>_____</p><p> </p><p>Rosa could feel her arms prickle with goosebumps. She hadn’t expected her father to respond to her long-winded email so soon -- or at all.</p><p>She took another glance back at Captain’s office, decided the coast was clear, and settled into her desk chair to read what she was sure to be the excuse of a lifetime.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi!</p><p>So, I wrote this from 12:30 - 4:00 AM today. Yes, I am tired. I ate half a bag of duros with chamoy while I wrote this lol. If you've never had them, you really should. Trust. It will really immerse yourself in this story... hehe.</p><p>But yeah! I am Mexican-American myself, and I decided I would write this because I wanted to be able to read something that I could relate to as a Mexican-American lesbian, also. (Even though Rosa is bisexual, she is dating Amy, so yeah. Don't want to erase her bisexuality, of course.)</p><p>Also, quick note: I am a part of the Black Lives Matter movement and thus do NOT support real-life police forces, especially the NYPD. I love B99 for the characters, not their occupations. None of this is supposed to reflect "copaganda" or anything of that sort. Let's remind ourselves of this and be reflective when consuming this type of media. All cops are bad.</p><p>Okay, see you next chapter hopefully! Drop a comment if you liked this, please! :)</p><p>- Aracelli</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Coffee Break</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11th</b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Viernes, las once de octubre</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>2:45 PM - 2.45 de la tarde</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Bullpen</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>“OKAY, ONE MORE</b>
  <span> time, Rosa. You got this!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rosa rolled her eyes. “I don’t get what I’m doing wrong. I said it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I</span>
  <em>
    <span> know</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Amy said, exasperated. “But you didn’t roll your ‘r’ correctly! It is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> pivotal to the Spanish language! Come on, one more time!</span>
  <em>
    <span> Perro</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Come on, really try to touch that palate with the tip of your tongue. Okay? Like this, watch me. Pe-- ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Rosa said, pushing the flashcards to the other side of the breakroom table. “This is stupid. It was a bad idea.” She stood up and walked over to the counter, pouring herself some scalding hot coffee into a styrofoam cup. While she dumped cream and sugar into her cup, Amy joined her at the counter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please,” she said, resting her hand on top of Rosa’s. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rosa felt a twinge of guilt, but swallowed it deep down. She wasn’t about to give in to her girlfriend </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> easily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Rosa said. “I can’t speak Spanish. We’ll just, I don’t know, hire a translator or something when you’re not around to help.” She stirred her drink with a straw. She knew this wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to work on this case with Amy, to learn Spanish, to make Holt proud of her. Of course. She just didn’t think it would feel this </span>
  <em>
    <span>humiliating</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy sighed. “Rosa, this isn't like you. You don’t just </span>
  <em>
    <span>give up</span>
  </em>
  <span> when things are hard.” She bit her lip. “I can tell something is wrong, but I don’t want to pry,” she said softly. “I… do have some ideas, though, if you just work with me. I can help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine,” Rosa said shortly, taking a sip of her coffee. “I just don’t want to waste work time on something stupid like learning how to roll my R’s.” She set her coffee cup on the table. “Anyway, what’s the update on the case? Any leads? What about that neighbor -- he seemed suspicious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy shook her head. “No, not yet. I’m still working on connecting some dots, and working on sending some guys to do a sweep of the apartment. Other than that, nothing.” She grabbed Rosa’s hand. “Which is why now is a</span>
  <em>
    <span> great</span>
  </em>
  <span> time to practice your Spanish!” Her eyes lit up, a mischievous grin spreading across her face as she dragged Rosa out of the break room and into the bullpen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rosa let a small laugh escape her. It’s rare that Amy Santiago gets like this, and when she does, Rosa never knows what to expect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Amy, what are you doing...?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going on a field trip,” Amy announced, leading Rosa to her desk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, without an itinerary?” Rosa snorted. “That’s new.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Trust the process,” Amy said, grabbing her bag. “Alright, let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hola! Sorry that this is so late, and so short. I just got some more inspiration lately to continue this fic, and hopefully this (extremely) short chapter will hold me accountable to continue it some more. I hope to publish more often, but the chapter may only be around 1,000 words or so. Ugh. Life of a college student/writer lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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